September 29, 2009

According to research outlined in today's Times newspaper, working mothers have the unhealthiest children. According to the research, mothers working full-time have children who eat fewer portions of fruit and vegetables, drink more fizzy drinks and watch more television.

Apparently mothers who work full-time, and even those that work part-time, are limiting their capacity to provide their children with healthy food and opportunities for physical activity.

Hang on a minute!

Some mothers work so that they can provide their children with a roof over their heads and food on their plates. Some mothers have to work, they simply cannot afford not to. If they had a choice they would stay at home with their children, but it is just not an option. Many already feel guilty for rushing off in the mornings after dropping their children at the school gates. Reports like this don't really help them feel any better about themselves.

Some mothers work because they are ambitious and want to build their career. Once they step off the career ladder it is difficult to get back on. I know many mothers like that and they work hard to get their work-life balance just right. One friend has a nanny. Her son gets plenty of fruit and vegetables and far more exercise than I do. Work forms a large part of some mothers' self-esteem, and if they are happy then their child(ren) will be too. Not all mothers want to be indoors with their children all day. Others do, it comes down to personal choice and what is best for individual families.

IJ is not a huge fan of fruit and vegetables. I don't work full -time but I try to work as many hours as I can on a part-time basis. I'd like to work full-time in the future. I've always tried to give her a healthy balanced diet, and that will remain the case whether I work full-time, part-time or not at all.

And there are so many working mums out there doing a really good job. Some are in the public eye like Myleene Class and Jo Whiley, but most are not.

Like I said, we just cannot win. We're a doing a great job, so cut us some slack!

September 28, 2009

Today's Pampers/UNICEF blogging event was fantastic. The PR company that invited us down to London treated us really well. Not only was the venue in Covent Garden ideal for a small gathering of bloggers, but we were treated to a fabulous lunch with free drinks laid on - nothing stronger than Coca-Cola of course. Not all media events are alcohol-fuelled I can assure you.

And anyway, we were there for a serious reason. The exact content of the event is under wraps until Thursday Ist October when the campaign goes 'live', so I'm under strict instructions not to blog about it yet.

September 27, 2009

Today IJ, aged 6, is preparing to attend her first ever press conference. No, she hasn't won a prize in some obscure novel writing competition or done anything momentous like becoming the first child to climb Mount Everest without oxygen. Instead, she is accompanying me to a blogger event in London. Her school has conveniently closed for the day (written with some frustration) so she is travelling down on the train to a venue just outside Covent Garden.

It'll be a 5am start and we'll be taking the commuter train and then a couple of crowded tube trains. She may regret her decision to come. Alternatively, she may think I travel to London every day to attend press conferences and then hurry back to collect her from Nottinghamshire, so she may think I am in fact superwoman.

The event we are attending is a blogger lunch, with English actress and mum of three Natascha McElhone, to hear how Pampers and teaming up with UNICEF to fight tetanus in developing countries.

So I've been invited down with a number of other bloggers to hear about the campaign and then to spread the news. I didn't have to be asked twice. It's a very worthwhile cause.The guest list is still a bit of a mystery, I'm not exactly sure which others bloggers will be there. We've been told we can write a pre-launch post this weekend, so take a look around the Internet, there may find similar posts to this one out there.